Photos: First look at Cemex’s new U.S. HQ in Memorial City

Photos: First look at Cemex’s new U.S. HQ in Memorial City

A colorful, spiral staircase, cement-inspired wall fixtures and a tech-inspired aesthetic set apart Cemex’s new U.S. headquarters.

Mexico-based Cemex SAB de CV, a building materials provider, will relocate its U.S. headquarters to 80,000 square feet in 10100 Katy Freeway in west Houstonstarting Jan. 17. The MetroNational-developed building topped out in June and is 240,000 square feet. Click through the slideshow to tour Cemex’s space.

Cemex’s new U.S. headquarters will serve as a testament to the company’s products – there are cement fixtures inset into the walls and portions of Cemex’s furniture that is made from cement. The office’s main stairwell, a colorful and winding bridge between the second and third floors, has handlebars made of one of Cemex’s rebar products. Most of the office’s flooring is smooth, exposed cement.

Ed Prins, director of real estate for Cemex, said that was no accident.

“We wanted to make a statement in stone and concrete,” Prins said. “We wanted to … show the versatility of the product.”

Roughly 160 Cemex employees will move into the new office space, which was built to accommodate up to 200 employees. Cemex took advantage of the economic times by getting most of its furniture “refurbished,” Prins said, though nearly all of the furniture has never been used or even taken out of the box. The furniture came from oil and gas companies that bought the furniture with expansion plans and never wound up using it.

Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture was the architect on Cemex’s new space, and Houston-based Inventure Design was the interior designer. Houston-based O’Donnell/Snider Construction was the general contractor.

The building at 10100 Katy Freeway broke ground in 2015. The six-level, LEED-certified building marked the first step in Memorial City’s expansion north of Interstate 10 and MetroNational’s long-term vision of developing the area as a city-within-a-city. The deal was nominated for a Landmark Award in 2015. No other leases at 10100 Katy Freeway have been announced.